Asia

Gangs in America: MS-13

MS-13, also called Mara Salvatrucha 13, is sweeping across America like a plague. The word ‘mara’ stands for youth gang, while Salvatrucha refers to the guerrillas in El-Salvador and the number thirteen stands for 13th street in LA. It is now an international criminal organization, based in thirty-three states in America and six countries in North and Central America. And with this article, we get to know this gang, unknown to many, in Europe as well.
Mara Salvatrucha 13 is a gang consisting of depressed his panics, who fled the violence of war in their own country. MS-13 is shrouded in mystery and attracts both admiration and fear. It is a mystery to many, which will be unraveled piece by piece in this article. The ethnic boundary between white and non-white, but also between various non-white groups, plays a vital role in the origins of this gang. Like many other gangs, MS-13 is associated with drug trafficking, theft, threats and shootings. It is impossible to summarize all the actions of the MS-13 in one article, but the link below offers an equally interesting and gruesome insight into the world of this dangerous gang:

http://www.tipt.nl/topic/583/ms13 -mara-salvatrucha-worlds-most-dangerous-gang

Origin history

In 1980, a fierce civil war broke out in El-Salvador. The country was torn apart and many people migrated to Los Angeles in hopes of a better life. Once in America, however, they were confronted with discrimination and loneliness and were constantly harassed by various gangs in the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. In response, two young people founded the Mara Salvatrucha 13 youth gang, which quickly grew into a huge criminal enterprise that infiltrates city centers, suburbs and also smaller towns. Deprived young immigrants were quickly turned into hardened criminals. Mass deportation of MS-13 members by the US government was counterproductive. Once back in their home country of El-Salvador, the members no longer had a criminal record. As a result, violence in Central America escalated, with MS-13 swarming El-Salvador and all nearby countries like a plague. Meanwhile, more and more names of members of the MS-13 are popping up in Europe. It is hardly surprising that this gang originated in America. Non-whites experience (institutional) discrimination, exclusion and inferiority. As second-class citizens, a disproportionate number of them live in the deprived areas of major cities and sub-urbs. In no other country is there such strong ethnic segregation as in America. Latino leaders do not want to be associated with the violence of MS-13 or 18th Street, because such gangs threaten the image and stereotyping of ethnic minorities in America.

Structure

As mentioned, deprivation, discrimination, exclusion and rival gangs play an important role for members who join a gang. Within the gang, social control also plays an important factor, preventing members from leaving or betraying the gang. The initiation ritual of new male members consists of a thirteen-second beating (jumping in) by members of Mara Salvatrucha, while new female members are allegedly raped by six gang members. However, it does not stop there, newcomers have to earn the newly acquired status by recruiting new members, by generating income and/or by killing rival gang members. The income is obtained by means of levying protection duties. Those who refused risked their lives. Sexuality plays an important role in this. Members of the MS-13 threaten to rape the daughters of merchants if they do not cooperate (rape taxes). Mass rape also functions on the one hand as a powerful deterrent against other gangs and on the other hand it creates mutual solidarity within your own gang.

Male hegemony

Within the MS-13 there is also a hierarchy of men and women, in which both adopt different roles. Being a member of a gang is associated with demonstrating strength and masculinity. Male gang members are real men, strong and unyielding. Women are connected to the gang in three different ways: through family, through friends or through gang activity in the area. Women play a marginal role within the gang and mainly function as glorified sex slaves. To illustrate, female gang members are shared by all male gang members. Just as society is male-dominated, so are the gangs. Moore identifies three central aspects: women do not belong in a gang, male dominance of men over women is natural and legitimate, men are allowed to use (read: abuse) women sexually. In the latter case, Fleisher points to examples in which women served as punching bags, were abused or simply abandoned. Ironically, some female gang members see their membership as a form of emancipation, because there is a strong solidarity between female members.

Influence women

However, the influence of women should not be underestimated. Firstly, women play an important role in the cohesion of the gang, partly because they – earlier than men – were able to arrange a permanent residence. From these places it was easier to concentrate gang activities. Second, female gang members are seen as gatekeepers of the gang. This sounds a bit strange in this context, but within a closed community, such as the Ms-13, the sexuality and fertility of women play an important role. They are, so to speak, a guarantee for the gang’s survival. Third, the mother is sacred within Hispanic circles. This is evident from the fifteen golden rules of the MS-13 alone: rule 1, I live for my mother, but I die for my neighborhood.; line 2, forgive me mother for my wild life.; rule 9, wherever you go, you always take your mother with you. The remaining question – and which has not yet been investigated – is what the mother’s actual power is and whether she can actually exercise it. Fourth, women (as sex slaves) play a role in men’s sexual pleasure. Fifth, women enable intragender violence. This means that male violence – with the exception of rape – is only aimed at men and female violence at women. In this way the man’s sense of honor does not have to be affected.

Conclusion

What this piece shows is that not only the acquisition, but also the structure and consequences of gang membership are very different for men and women. The initiation ritual typifies this difference. Men are confronted with violence, women with sexuality. Where men are seen as real men, women are abused as glorified sex slaves. However, this subordinate position does create a shared solidarity (sisterhood) among women. In fact, some women hope to escape male hegemony in their neighborhood in this way. In vain. The pattern of violence among men and women is also different. The manner and extent is less among women and the violence is exclusively aimed at other women. The physical and psychological impact of membership is enormous for women. They are abused by both their own members and members of other gangs (additional victimization risk) and are confronted with inequality. Despite this, women’s membership is steadily growing, something that should worry any feminist.